Vacuum feeder



J. s. REEcE VACUUM FEEDER Jan. 16, 1945.

Filed April 30, 1942 EAI wm mm um E mm .I- NM w w wk@ s 1Q mm U Patented Jan. 16, y1945 UNITED STAT Es PATENT oFFlcE VACUUM EEEDImV James S. Reece,r Birmingham,v assigner to Continental Grin Company,y acorporation of Delaware f v Applicationy April 30, 19

2 claims. (Cieza-133s) y, f l

"many "other different apparatus. One of the objects of my invention is to provide a vacuum feeder which is rseparate from, and ymay rbe attached to and used lin connection with various such apparatus.

A further object of my invention is to provide a vacuum feeder having a movable side wall for permitting large lumps of material being'lian-` dled, or large foreign objects, to pass through the feeder without doing damage to the rotor. vanes or side sheets, and without causing an undue leakage of air through the feeder. y

A still further lobject of my invention is to" provide a vacuum feeder having a movable side wall which maybe removed', affording access to the rotor for the renewal or adjusting of flights without further disr'nantling the'feeder or the apparatus to which it is connected. e A still furtherobject of my invention is to provide a vacuum feeder with a movable side wall and stabilizing parts ywhich are adapted to move to accommodate vthe wall'tolarge masses of material without unduly breaking the seal through the feeder and affordingA a constant contact be.-

42, Serial No. 441,198

which is yieldably connected to the casing of the feeder opposite the upper part o-f the 'rotor and also at the bottom opposite the lower part of the rotor so that the movable wall may move outwardly at the top or the bottom without appreciably affecting the other edge of the Wall. The rotor thus maintains a seal through the apparatus at substantially all times. The movable sideV wall having only a yielding connection with the rest of the feeder may be readily removedfto give access to the rotor for any repairsor replacetween the sealing means on the rotor, and the y movable side wall.

I `'Vacuum feeders having a movable side kwall have heretofore been proposed, but all with which I am familiar have been built into and made a part ofthe apparatus with which they were connected. vThe only way access could be had'to such a feeder was through the apparatus with which it was associated. Furthermore, such vacuum feeders had the side wall'hinged'above the rotor so that when forced to move outwardlyk at one-part by a'large lump or wad of material being handled, would move out altogether, breaking the air seal through the feeder.

'These and other difficulties' are overcome in accordance with my invention in which the feeder is in a separate casing from the apparatusfwith which it connected, and may be attached and removed v without dismantling the apparatus with which it is associated. In. order to `guard against the breaking of the'airlseal due to the passage of large wads or lumps of ymaterial through the feeder, Iprovide a movable sidewall ments to the vanes.

Apparatus embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, in which Fig. 1 is an end elevational view of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof with parts in section;

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken along the line III-III of Fig. 2;

@Fig. '4 isa detail sectional view of one of the rotor vanes; and Y Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View showing the means vfor sealing the rotor headsagainst leakage.

Referring to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention, I show my improved feeder in Figs. l and 2 as being associated with some suitable apparatus I0, such as, for example, a cotton separator.' The feeder is comprised of a housing having heads II and I2. The heads are connected on one side by a sheet I3 forming an arcuate stationary Wall. Along the upper edge of the sheet I3 is a stiifening rail I4 which may. be formed of thin gauge metal Abent to the shape shown or other shape to add rigidity. Similarly, along the lower edge of the sheet I3 extends av bottom rail I6. On the opposite side ofthe housing the heads II and I2 are connected at the top by an upper rail I'I formed to provide a flat smooth surface I8 on the underside. At the bottom, the heads are connected by a lower rail I9 formed to provide a smooth flat surface 20 on its upper side.

Mounted between the upper and lower rails Il and I9 is a movable arcuate housing wall 2|, which has relatively close clearance with respect to the housing heads II and I2 to prevent substantial ingress of air around the ends. Along the upper edge of the movable wall 2 I is provided a sealingrstrip 22 held in place by a clamp bar 23 and bolts 24. Similarly alongr the lower edge of the movable wall 2| is a 'sealing strip 26. held in placeby a clamp bar 2l andrbolts 28. The hous-v lwhich material being handled falls by gravity,

and a lower opening B through Which material is discharged.

At 29 I show a rotor shaft extending through the housing which is mounted in frictionlessv bearings 3|, one of the bearing assemblies .being shown in section in Fig. 2. The bearings 3| are supported .by ribs 25 cast integrally with the housing heads and l2. The shaftZSmaybe driven by any suitable means, such as a pulley 30.

Fixedly mounted on the shaft 29 are rotor heads 32 and 33, which rotate in openings 35 in the housing heads and I2. At spaced intervals around the rotor heads 32 and 33 are secured short clip angles 34 to the flanges of which are attached sheet metal .rotor varies 36 which thus connect the heads 32 and 33. As will be seen in Fig. 3, the vanes 36are U-shaped in cross section, with each leg thereof cooperating with and being secured to one of the clips 35, and to an abutting leg of an adjacent vane, thus lforming ,a light rigid structure and one which .prevents `the passage of air through the body of the rotor. Mount` ed between the abutting legsof ythe vanes 36 are flexible flights 3l which may be made of rubber, leather, or similar composition, and which afford asemi-rigid element for feeding 4the material through the feeder. In advance of eachof the flights 37 in the direction of rotation of the rotor are flexible sealing strips 38, which in rotating bear against the walls I3 and 2| to prevent leakage of air through the feeder. Thesealing strips 38 and flights 3l are secured between the abutting legs of the vanes 36 by means of bolts 39. The vanes 36, as may be seen in Fig. 3, are inclined rearwardly of a radial direction with respect to the `direction of rotation. .Also the vanes are constructed so that there `is va longer leading or active side of a vanelthan its associated trailing or inactive side. This provides for a freer discharge of material at the 'bottomdischarge opening B and overcomes any tendency for material, such as cotton, to be carried around by the vanes past the discharge opening. The rotor heads 32 and 33 are sealed against leakage of air into the .casing throughthe openings 35 'by means of packing .rings `4| preferably made of soft material, such as felt, and which are mounted in a packing recess 42 formed in the heads il and l2, only one of which is shown. The packing rings 4| `bear against an outwardly extending flange d3 on the rotor head,` andare held in place `by a follower ring 44. The follower ring 44 is held in place by means of springs 46 mounted in lugs 47| overhanging the rotor heads and arranged at spaced intervals about they housing heads and |'2. The opposite ends of the springs 43 :bear against cotter pins 4.8 .extending through ksuitable openings inthe lugs '41.

Mounted in suitable bea-rings'EI and 52, carried by brackets' and54, which in turn are mounted on the heads and |2,.are a pair of oscillating shafts 56 and 5'1. Secured on the shafts 56 and 51 Aat one end thereof are crank arms 5'8 and 59, tothe outward ends of which are connected tension springs 61 and 62 respectively; rPhe other ends of the springs 6| and62 are connected 'to eye-bolts 63^and"54, respectively, attachedto the head The brackets'S and 54, as shown in Fig. 1, limitthe inward movement of the arms 58 and 59. Also secured to the upper oscillating shaft 56 are upwardly extending crank arms 66 and 61, to which are attached links and 69, which in turn are connected to suitable brackets 1| mounted on the movable wall 2| of the housing. Similarly, there are mounted on the lower oscillating shaft 5l downwardly extending crank arms 13 and-14, which are connected by means of links 16 and l'l` to brackets 18 carried by the Imovable wall 2|. The provision of yieldable :means along the edges of the movable wall 2| opposite the upper and lower sides of the rotor to provide for 'limited outward movement responsive to-an abnormal mass of material in one of the pockets, permits such movement along fone .edge without materially affecting the other,

and thus without :breaking the seal through the feeder.

It will ybe seen from vthe foregoing description that the U-shaped rotor vanes y36, in cooperation with the rotor heads 32 and 33, form pockets into whichlthe material being hanmed fails by gravity through the opening A, and is carried around by .therotation of the feeder to be discharged at the .bottom at B. The construction of the vanes, together with` their sealing strips cooperating with the walls .of the housing and the .packing around the yrotor heads, prevents the ingress of air into the feeder, it being assumed that `there is a `differential of pressure between that existing in the apparatus ||l and the outside atmosphere. In case a large wad ormass of material falls into one ofthe pockets, when it encounters the moving walls 2| .at the top, the spring 6| permits the wall to move outwardly and .the crank armsJS and .6.'lcause it to move out evenly across the length of the feeder.' This movement takes place without .materially changing the position of the lower .edge of the wall 2|. As the wad of material approaches the lower edge of the wall 2|,.the spring `62 lpermits the lower edge vto move outwardly, .while the spring 6|, contracting, causes the .upper edge to move inwardly, restoring the seal formed by the approaching feeder flight. .In .the handling of most materials the action of .the vanes and the movable wall will cause such a wad of material to besqueezed into a pocket before it reaches the lower edge of the movable wall so that there is no outward movement along the bottom edge at all. In any'case, there `is thus .maintained a substantial seal against the ingress of air throughthe `feeder `in all its positions. `In. event it becomes necessary torenew or repairthevanes 36, nights 31, or sealing strips 38, .or `the movable wall 2|, the latter may .be readily removed by Vdisconnecting the springs 6.| land 6.2 and removing the bearing brackets 53.and 54 whereupon the entire .wall 2| .maybe removed, giving access to the interior. It will 'also be seen that my improved feeder may be readilyattached to' or removed from the` apparatus with which it is associatedand is-not an integral part of ysuch apparatus.

` WhileI have shown my invention in but one form, it will be .obviousto those skilled in the art that it .is fnot .so limited, .but is susceptible of variousfchanges ,and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, .and I desire.,

therefore, that only such .limitations shall be placed `thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

'What II claim is:

1. Ina vacuum feeder, .a housing comprising yend walls having openings therein, a rotor mounted between the end walls and having heads projecting through the openings, vanes on the rotor providing material handling pockets therein, an arcuate stationary side wall connecting the end walls on one side of the housing, an arcuate side wall on the other side of the housing free to move outwardly with respect to the housing, crank shafts carried by the end walls and extending parallel to the movable sidewall on the outside thereof near the upper and lower edges respectively, crank arms on the shafts connected to the movable side wall, separate springs connecting the crank shafts to the end wall to bias the movable side wall inwardly of the housing, and means to limit inward movement of the said side wall relative to the housing.

2. In a vacuum feeder, a housing comprising end walls having openings therein, Aa rotor mounted between the end walls and having heads projecting through the openings, vanes on the rotor ,providing material handling pockets therein, an arcuate stationary side wall connecting the end walls on one side of the housing, an arcuate side wall on the other side of the housing free to move outwardly with respect to the housing, crank shafts carried by the end walls and extending parallel to the movable side wall on the outside thereof near the upper and lower edges respectively, crank arms on the shafts connected to the movable side wall,` separate springs connecting the crank shafts rto the end wall to bias the movable side wall inwardly of the housing, means to limit inward movement of the said side wall relative to the housing, semi-rigid flights mounted on the vanes of the rotor, and flexible sealing strips mounted on the semi-rigid flights on the leading side thereof to prevent leakage of air. through the feeder.

JAMES S. REECE. 

